A Winter Warmer; My Mulled Wine

For 1 cup:100mls red wine, 50mls orange juice, 50mls apple juice, 1 pump cinnamon syrup, splash simple syrup, 4-5 pieces cloves, Heat on stovetop, garnish with chopped orange slices.

We serve this (to much acclaim) in my restaurant.
Do you make mulled wine at home? Share your secrets in the thread.

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Thanksgiving- Your Turn

Dear Community, Happy Thanksgiving! Hope yours was wonderful. (And did not involved anything like the vintage scene above- lol.)

What did you eat?
Who did you eat it with?
What are you thankful for today?
How will you spend your weekend?
Any black-Friday shopping planned?

Happy Bountiful Fall Feast Day!

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TLG Food for Thought, Oct. 28th 2008

Here's a trade show that I wouldn't mind attending.

The French just kicked off the 14th Annual Paris Chocolate Show, celebrating all things cacao. Growers, producers and artisans gather to share their knowledge and products with the world.


Oct. 28: A chocolate model of the Eiffel Tower sits on display at the Chocolate Show in Paris. Benoit Tessier-Reuters


Can't make it to the City of Lights this week? The show moves to NYC next week at Pier 94, 711 12th Avenue and 55th Street.

Two interesting Chocolate reads that I had fun with last year.

Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum and The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars by Joël Glenn Brenner

Sweet-tooth waking up now? Scroll back a few days and you can learn how to make some chocolate marshmallows with Dani and MB.

Me? I am going to go browse some cookbooks.

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Good BAD For You Food Open Thread

In an effort to be healthy and lose a few pounds before I go to Europe and eat like crazy in Dec. I am trying to eat lower carb and healthy... But this week in particular as the weather turns cool and my appetite comes back I am being tempted by all my favorite Good-Bad Food!

One of the big temptations this week as been going through Shibuya and NOT stopping at the Krispy Kreme that opened up there a month ago!

What are your favorite BAD food temptations?

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Weekend Brunch Open Food Thread

I am heading in to work Sunday Brunch at the restaurant.

This shot is our eggs benedict. (Best version in all of Tokyo.) I usually take a 3o mins (or so) break sometime during the day and have a bit of brunch myself. This is always one of my favorites.

What are you munching on today?
What did you make recently?
Any good new breakfast places in your area?
Left to your own devices (mom's not looking) what would you eat for breakfast?

Bon Appetit

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Propogating My New Project; Foodies For Obama

A few months back I was having an interesting conversation with the dynamic Jane of FDL fame and she was making the point that we all needed to be thinking about bringing in other communities and interest groups that might not think of themselves as political. (expanding our base) At the time she mentioned pet owners and dog rescue groups-- since things like green space, and community laws effect them.

This got me to thinking about my interest groups. The biggest ones, of course are those related to foodies, locavores, restaurant people and food bloggers. F&B related issues are my long standing passion. So here is the outcome of that thinking.



And my first outreach effort from that idea is this video;

If you do any blogging, food writing, and food-blog reading, hope you will consider spreading the word about my little video. Working on ideas for #2.

Anyway, feedback and pr help greatly appreciated. And there will be more action going on at the site foodies4obama.blogspot.com

And a big thanks already to Orangeclouds for promoting it on her terrific food site.

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Speaking of Food

Here's a wonderful late summer early fall dish that is the lunch special at my restaurant this week. This is a grilled Sanma(mackerel pike in English) served with veggies, lotus root, and a yuzu shoyu (soy) sauce. Healthy, low carb, flavorful. (if a bit high in sodium).

This is a really tasty, healthy dish. Served with 5 grain rice this one is perfect for the changing seasons. Yum.
What's cooking at your home or favorite restaurant?

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The Kitchen, Boulder; The Real Deal in Local And Sustainable

My last day in Colorado I took the 4$ bus from Denver to Boulder to spend a day browsing, relaxing, and enjoying the local scene. My last dinner was spent in a wonderful little place. THE KITCHEN, chef owner/ Hugo Matheson.

all photos, tlg 08.31.08 at The Kitchen, Boulder Colorado

The Kitchen and the team there take local and sustainable to a remarkable level. The whole restaurant is 100% wind powered. The napkins made from recycled cotton, the changing menu made from meats, veggies, and local products sourced with loving care. No waste and great care to make the best choices from a to z.

This from their website;

Eco Practices-- We believe that being "green" transcends any current hype or fad. We simply believe it is the right thing to do for our community, at home and at large. We make conscientious decisions about every aspect of our operations, from the hand towels in the bathroom to the wind-power generated electricity we use. We recycle and reuse nearly 100 percent of our "discards". All of our paper products and straws are biodegradable. We give the remaining uncooked food and open bottles of wine to our staff at the end of each shift and all of our food scraps are made into compost, often returning to the farm where they were first harvested.

The staff was attentive, the food fantastic, and the atmosphere grade A.

One thing that they did which I was impressed with was they way they promoted their local providers. On a gorgeous black board right in the middle of the main dining area they listed up where they got their meat, fish and a list of local farms and companies that they source from. It created a compelling feeling of community. And I know if I lived in Boulder, as many of the diners did, I would certainly look those companies up and buy from them.


I started dinner with a cheese plate, paired with wines recommended by the chef. All American cheeses, one cow, one goat, one sheep.



And for dinner I had Duck with Grilled Peaches and Couscous. Finished off with a dark and luscious glass of port.



Returned back to Denver via the bus to pack and head home. This was a wonderful way to end my journey. If you ever get to Boulder, be sure to check out The Kitchen.

You can read more about it here.

and this great piece done in Sunset magazine Yum.

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Austin Dinner, Pre-Netroots @ Lamberts YUM

This morning, my bag and jacket from last night still smell of wonderful wood smoking from dinner at Lamberts. Locally owned and operated-- they used all organic, sustainable, Austin produce. We had spicy deviled eggs, mac and cheese, baked beans, pulled pork, pork ribs and hanger steak. That ginger brew above was great, unusually not just spicy ginger zing but some sweet honey taste too.

Nice service and everything was prepared perfectly and surprisingly served lightening fast. Yes, I like Austin!

This morning, starting out with tea, and breakfast taco's next door to the hotel and a roadside coffee house, Jo's. Wireless working out here, and I talked to the hotel, the tech guy is on the way to fix what ails us.

Off to the opening of Netroots in a wee bit.
More from the convention center, oh and lots of Austin food blogging for sure.

Oh, and at Lambert's there was a peach, raspberry cobbler that will get a post all on it's own, when I can find the words to describe the indescribable.

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A Sandwich Can Kill You

The world is a strange place. When life is grim, tense-- and dangerous, one response is often humor. AND another response is to laugh and then profit from a circumstance. This story in the heart of Hezbollah territory caught my attention.

Lebanese feast on 'buns and guns' in Hezbollah fiefdom"
Behind a barricade of sandbags, Ali devours a "Magnum 357" as his friend Hussein tucks into a giant "B52". Welcome to "Buns and Guns" restaurant in the heartland of south Beirut controlled by Lebanon's Shiite militant movement Hezbollah. Lebanon's political crisis, Hezbollah's war with Israel in 2006 and worsening tensions have become a source of inspiration for a restaurant in a country marked by violence.

A sandwich can kill you," reads a slogan on the wall of Buns and Guns, where the decor evokes a barracks decorated with a veritable cache of weaponry -- in plastic -and photos of Israel's main battle tank, the Markava. An "offensive" menu, which includes "chicken camouflage", "Dragunov (sniper rifle) steak" and roast "M16", is offered to clients who need little explanation of the military terms.

The servings are huge and that could kill you, good though they are," says Youssef Ibrahim, the 27-year-old owner of the restaurant. "I wanted to offer a new concept of a restaurant, and the tense situation in Lebanon was partly what inspired me."

I am not a fan of theme restaurants ever, mostly because such a restaurant rarely has good food. But life is getting too strange when instead of a Hard Rock Burger we end up with "Chicken Camouflage". My first reaction is kind of a sick, sinking feeling-- which is not the normal reaction I have to food as you all know. But there is also something noble about being able to laugh in the face of terrorism. Something strong about not being afraid of the violence that is an every day part of so many lives in the middle east.

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GNB Food Moment

At my restaurant, we change the lunch specials every week. One new plate lunch, one new curry 52 weeks a year. Doesn't actually repeat, though we play with variations on a theme. The cool thing is, all the line cooks (not just the top chef) get to take turns coming up with the specials.

This week we are serving this...



Grilled Marinade Pork Loin on Mushroom Pumpkin Quiche with Sweet & Sour Mustard Sauce

I tried it today and it was damn tasty. Why am I sharing it? Cause I was thinking that the way we serve up lunch every week is a good way to work with people. Empower creative thinking, give everyone a moment in the spotlight, share their skill and bounty with the community, and then do it again next week. Every monday we also send our weekly special in the form of lunch boxes to an area food bank for distribution to a shelter. We serve them what we sell to our customers, not leftovers- or things we wouldn't want to eat ourselves. Not profound, but simple good common practices.

Itadakimasu.

Recipe

Marinate a pork loin in
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Oregano and Paprika

Grill on charcoal till it is cooked through and has great color!

Sweet & Sour Sauce
combine and bring to a boil
50g grain mustard
40g cornstarch
60g ketchup *homemade is best
150ml soy sauce
210ml sushi vinegar
210ml simple sugar syrup (we make it ourselves)

Quiche
1/2 pumpkin and 1/2 onion slices stir fried with butter and salt
Carrots
Shitake Mushrooms
800ml cream
200ml milk
tbs salt
tbs pepper
tbs nutmeg
8 eggs

Bake together till golden brown on top, in a greased baking pan (no crust) cut in squares and serve with pork on the same plate. Drizzle whole plate with Sweet and Sour Sauce

garnish with Mizuna and Curly Parsley (chopped)
Feeds a Bunch of Folks!

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FDA Still Has No Idea-- Adds Cilantro and Peppers to the Watch List

No closer to knowing what is making people sick... maybe tomatoes, maybe not. Now cilantro and peppers go on the watch list. And people are still getting sick.

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration appears no closer to finding the source of a mysterious salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 900 people nationwide. The FDA is not even 100 percent sure that tomatoes are the cause — adding peppers and cilantro Saturday to its list of foods under investigation in the outbreak.-- MSNBC

Meanwhile; by the numbers
In addition to the 900 people who have gotten sick...

The USA Tomato Industry has sustained a more than a 100 million dollar loss.

More than 12,000 tons of tomatoes are rotting in warehouses.

And we still don't know anything.
Bon Appetit!

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In Praise of Being a Localvore

lovely farm and nature paintings/etchings by Art Hansen

Locovore/localvore (both spellings found)
the practice of eating food that is grown locally in order to support small business, build community and reduce greenhouse gases as local food does not require shipping across countries and continents.

We've talked about this kind of stuff before-- but it is a topic that I never tier of. Fancy diets, big companies trying to turn organic, eating more vegetables and less meat, all have been proposed to be kinder to the earth and our bodies. Many of these things intimidate most people who are in a hurry- and don't want to think that much about their food.

Turns out the easiest way to eat healthy and clean up the planet is to do our purchasing from companies who make what grows and lives close to home. The time of the small farmer and of homegrown garden is coming again. (amazing how things come back into fashion) Our ancestors did this out of necessity and common sense. Seems like those two motivators are ALSO coming back into fashion.

Eating local is easy, and if you changed even 20% of your purchasing power over to supporting local food growers the impact would be enormous. PLUS it tastes better and is generally better for you. Winning all around.

First steps to being a localvore-

*Find a farmer's market or csa in your area
*Plant something yourself- bucket tomatoes, a kitchen window herb garden, a fruit tree for your yard... something.
*Share your bounty with others- trade tomatoes with a friend who grows great eggplant, that sort of thing... mini co-ops!
*Look through your phone book in your area for small businesses producing food. You'll be surprised at how many entrepreneurs are in the food growing and creating business.
*Buy from smaller local groceries, and read your labels. When you go out to eat, choose mom and pop restaurants, bakeries etc. not chains- and ask where stuff comes from.

These steps are all simple and fun. By purchasing locally you will generally eat a more seasonal and earth friendly diet. PLUS like I said, it is all Much More delicious!

Eating is one of the most intimate things we do. And we all do it so it is also a great common denomimator. (I know all your internet traditions) Learning to really appreciate and enjoy what you eat brings a tremendous richness to life.

Tell your localvore story here;
Who makes what delicious treat in your area?
What is your area's seasonal bounty?
What is the best local eating joint in your town?
Do you have a farmers market? Have you visited a farm in the last 5 years?

Share please; I am starving to hear your stories!

Great reading/resource list about all things Localvore here.
Local Locator resources here.

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How To Drink Wine

Because I am a world traveling, sophisticate, gourmand and wine aficionado many people ask me, how do you drink that shit? Well, mi compadre let me tell you how to learn to drink the vino.

First of all it's better than that loaf of bread in a glass, beer. Except for the Belgian stuff, and the good local German breweries. Also the Hungarians. Oh and this little craft Japanese Weizen beer.

When you are ready to stop hanging out with the hoi polloi you have to switch to the grape. My advice, if you want to learn to tell the difference between the plonk and a finely produced Bordeaux is, pick one grape. Just one. Merlot, Chardonnay, Roussanne and just drink that for one year. This will help you learn the characteristics of that one grape. Unless you drink several times a day, in that case it will take you much less time, since you are probably out of work anyway. When you spend a sufficient time drinking a single varietal you will begin to tell the difference between a good bottle and a bad one. One that is tight (or lacking in big flavor or smell.) or one that is unbalanced (a good smell but no real taste or aftertaste.)

The smell, or nose, is the first impression of a wine. It's called the "the nose", because that's what the French say. I don't know why, they're strange. Anywho, it is really half of the experience and after a time you will begin to understand what are the basic aromas or "notes" that exist in your wine, the wine you chose to learn first. For instance in Chardonnay you might smell stone fruit, peach, and maybe honey and that smells good, So drink! But these flavors will be common to the type of wine you picked.

Don't be suckered into thinking that you have to drink a certain kind of wine with a certain type of food. First of all, if you selected Pinot Gris you will be eating salad for a year, [shudders.] It's fine to drink a white with meat, or a red with something light. You are in training! But really it's not some sancro-sanct rule, the point is that you enjoy. The people who act snobbish about wine are twits and I have found that they don't really know about it. They only pretend to know what they are tasting. I have served people like this a corked wine and they never noticed.

Wine is a lot of fun, a good chef can make a new flavor out of the blending of their food and a well paired wine. Sometimes more than one flavor. Besides chicks will think you are a world traveling sophisticate and you will enjoy more sex. Studies have shown that people who drink wine have more sex. It's true, look it up. Beer drinkers almost never have sex, except with themselves.

The Whites:
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are the 2 biggies, Sauvignon Blanc is the lighter more accessible wine, usually Chardonnay has been barreled in so much oak as to be indistinguishable from licking a tree. The German grape Gewürztraminer, which is important to say with a German accent because it sounds cooler, is a little sweet. Oh and when someone says a wine is dry, they mean it's not that sweet. There are plenty of others but no-one has ever heard of them. Except Muscat, which was featured in the famous song Muscat Love. When you have finished your year drinking Sauvignon Blanc you can discover Dessert Wine, or as I call it, some motherfucking excellent shit.

The Reds:
Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz (or Syrah), Merlot, Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir. Don't pick Pinot first. The flavors in Pinot are too subtle, thats why it's known as the Sommelier's wine. It takes some time to be able to distinguish all the different tastes. When I picked my wine I picked Cabernet Sauvignon. A friend of mine recommends Merlot at first, the flavors are simpler than Cab and wont overwhelm you. It is available at pretty much every place that serves wine, it can be drunk with fish or beef and it tastes good. It can be dry and lack much sweetness. Although its not that stuffy, the name is derived from Sauvage which is French for wild! We all know that the French can be wild.

The point is that good wine is any wine that you enjoy. I can still sit and have a glass of crappy Italian house wine with a simple plate of pasta and also enjoy a $500 bottle of Pinot.

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